Microsoft breaks $100bn in revenue

Microsoft has officially capped off a barnstorming year, announcing $110 billion in revenue - the first time the company has ever topped $100 billion - thanks to massive growth in both the cloud and gaming markets.

In the company's financial report for the fourth quarter of its 2018 financial year, Microsoft boasted of a 14 percent boost to revenue year-on-year taking it over $100 billion to $110.4 billion for the first time in the company's history. The sudden spike of growth in the fourth quarter which led to the record-breaking full-year results can be traced to two key business divisions: The Azure cloud computing platform, which grew 89 percent, and gaming, which grew 39 percent - a sign that the company's poor start for the Xbox One platform is finally behind it.

'We had an incredible year, surpassing $100 billion in revenue as a result of our teams’ relentless focus on customer success and the trust customers are placing in Microsoft,' claims Satya Nadella, chief executive officer at Microsoft. 'Our early investments in the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge are paying off, and we will continue to expand our reach in large and growing markets with differentiated innovation.'

From the company's $110.4 billion in revenue, however, it made $16.6 billion in profit per generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) reporting - a drop from the $25.5 billion it made on lower revenue the year prior, thanks to a $13.7 billion charge relating to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 regulation and a further $306 million charge relating to the company's recent restructuring exercise.

Other notable reports from various internal Microsoft divisions include a 38 percent increase in Office 365 commercial revenue, a 37 percent increase in LinkedIn revenue, a 61 percent increase in Dynamics 365 revenue, a 14 percent increase in Windows 10 Pro licensing to OEM customers, and a 25 percent increase in Surface revenue - thanks, the company claims, to considerably improved interest in its latest products compared to the models available the year prior.

Microsoft's full financial results are available on the company's investor relations site.